Iranian police opened fire on a father and son in northwestern Iran, killing the 13-year-old boy and wounding his father.
According to a report by human rights groups, Masihollah Veisi and his son Mohammad-Reza were on a motorcycle in Shirinabad Qahavand village in Hamedan, when the police opened fire on them. They were on their way to irrigate their farm on August 4.
A source said that they were shot at without warning.
Locals say the police checkpoint is the burial site of historical artifacts and that the police were digging the ground when they heard the motorcycle and opened fire.
The report along with Mohammad-Reza’s pictures initially surfaced on social media platforms.
A Hamedan police official denied the report and said that father and son were carrying out criminal activities.
The Social Deputy of Hamadan’s Police Headquarters said that the Veisis were looking for the buried artifacts and that they had “tried to run away when they heard the police sirens”.
“The suspects heard the police sirens, did not heed the police ordering them to stop and the warning shots fired into the air,” he said adding that the police “were forced to shoot at them”.
Bashari claimed that one of the “suspects” was taken to the hospital but died from his injuries.
In the official report carried by state-run media on August 11, the official did not mention that the “suspect” was a 13-year-old boy.
After the death of Mohammad-Reza, his angry family members and locals attacked the police base and demanded accountability.
A video on social media showed young men kicking at the gates of the police base.
Iranian security forces and police have a history of killing civilians with impunity. Security forces routinely open fire on civilians in Sistan and Baluchestan in southeastern Iran and Kurd border porters in western Iran, killing and wounding them.
